This present invention relates to rail transit vehicles and, more specifically, to collision structures for use with rail transit vehicles.
Rail transportation utilizes various types of rail vehicles or cars. These cars include commuter rail, light rail and heavy rail cars. In accordance with regulations in place, federal or otherwise, such cars include structure to absorb the impact of collisions with other rail cars as well other roadway vehicles. One such structure is a coupler, which projects outwardly from the front face of the rail car. The coupler in a “front” car of the rail vehicle acts as a buffer to absorb the impact of a collision with another rail vehicle. Ideally, when two rail cars collide, the couplers associated with the front cars of each contact each other upon impact. The coupler for each car then absorbs the energy generated by the impact and distributes the remainder across the underframe of the car, thus reducing the damage to the car as a whole.
Another type of structure is an anticlimber located in or on a front face of a car. The anticlimber includes a grille. When two cars collide, the anticlimbers will contact each other and, similar to the coupler, will absorb the impact of a collision with another rail vehicle. At higher rates of impact, the grilles of the anticlimbers engage to reduce the likelihood that the cars will “climb” or otherwise be separated from the rails upon which they ride. However, regardless of the impact strength, each anticlimber absorbs the energy generated by the impact and distributes the remainder across the underframe of each car.
In order for these structures to be used successfully, however, the collision structures on both colliding rail cars must be located at the same height relative to the rails so that they contact each other. Otherwise, the structures may partially come into contact, or fail to contact each other at all.
Further explanation of the conventional structures described above is now provided. FIG. 1 shows a cutaway view of portions of two opposing rail cars 102, 104. Each railcar includes an anticlimber 106 extending across a front face 108 of the car 102, 104 and, optionally, includes a coupler 110 that projects outwardly from the rail car 102, 104. Both the anticlimber 106 and the coupler 110 reduce the loads on the rail car 102, 104 resulting from a collision. The anticlimber (and coupler) will absorb energy generated from a collision, thus reducing the amount of energy that is distributed across an underframe 112 of the car. Traditionally, and as shown in FIG. 2, when two rail cars 102, 104 collide, the anticlimbers 106 of each car come into contact and, at a sufficiently high impact, engage to prevent the cars 102, 104 from moving off of a track 113.
In order for the anticlimbers 106 of the colliding rail cars to be effective, they should be located at the same height H with respect to a horizontal plane (e.g., rail tracks), upon which they are positioned. For embodiments where couplers are included, the couplers should be also be positioned at the same height. However, because rail car structures often will differ from each other, particularly when one rail car is of a newer model than the other car, the anticlimbers may not be positioned at the same height. Under such circumstances, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the anticlimbers 106 (as well as the couplers 110 where used), of two colliding cars may, upon impact, only partially contact each other or not contact each other at all, resulting in the benefits of the traditional collision structures not being fully realized. Thus, the older cars may need to be replaced or significantly modified, which may incur considerable inconvenience and expense.